Treasury’s Miller Sees Systemic-Risk Votes in Next Few Months

By Ian Katz -
Mar 4, 2013

Mary Miller, the U.S Treasury
undersecretary for domestic finance, said the Financial
Stability Oversight Council may vote “in the next few months”
on whether to designate some companies systemically important.

Miller, speaking at an Institute of International Bankers
conference in Washington today, said the authority to apply the
designation to companies, subjecting them to Federal Reserve
oversight, “is not a power the council wields cavalierly.”

American International Group Inc., Prudential Financial
Inc. and General Electric Co. (GE)’s finance unit are in the final
stage of review by the council, a group of regulators created by
the Dodd-Frank law to prevent another financial crisis.

Sheila Bair, former chairman of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp., said last week that U.S. regulators lack the
will and courage to designate non-bank financial companies
systemically important.

Miller said today that “careful assessments of these firms
take time. Over the last year, we have reviewed public data,
engaged with an initial set of companies to gather additional
information, and coordinated with the companies’ regulators to
develop thorough assessments.”

“For this first set of companies, we are nearing the end
of that process, and our hope is that the council will vote on
designations in the next few months,” she said.

The oversight council also is reviewing and analyzing
public comments received on its recommendations for tightening
rules for money-market mutual funds, Miller said.